Don’t give up on the Celtics

Wait. Weren’t the Boston Celtics supposed to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season?

So far, if you look at the entire year, they have been a pretty good team. But at 13-12, they are in sixth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The expectations were set higher than that. And this has been a tough week for the C’s, and probably frustrating for a lot of fans to watch. The guys in green have lost three straight. No need to panic though. Cue Shane Victorino’s walk-up song.

Just go through every single loss the Celtics have had on their three game skid.

On December 9, they lost to the Toronto Raptors, 101-94.

Yeah. What the heck did you expect? The Raptors are really good this year — 18-7 in fact, which makes them the second best team in the Eastern Conference. They’re like less than one full LeBron James away from being the Cleveland Cavaliers if you think about it. Half a game separates those teams in the standings, so the Raptors might even be better #HotTake

On December 11, they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 99-96.

A three-point loss to a playoff caliber team (15-11) from the west. Could the Celtics have beaten them? Probably, but the Thunder were red hot at that point. Beating the Celtics meant they had won seven of their last eight. OK.

On Wednesday, they lost, 108-101 to the San Antonio Spurs (20-5).

You know who is better than the Spurs in the West? Golden State. That’s literally it. At least the C’s didn’t lose by 29 like the Nets did last Saturday.

Luckily for the C’s three of their next four games should be a lot easier. At home on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets (14-12), they should have an edge. After that, they face the 9-17 Miami Heat on Sunday (the 18-9 Memphis Grizzlies on the road should be a challenge), and then the 13-13 Indiana Pacers next Thursday.